CAIRO -

Members of the Egyptian Bar Association demanded President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi what they described as “responding to the union’s dignity” and its deceased captain, Ragai Attia, after the security services refused to leave Attia’s funeral from the Bar Association headquarters, as well as canceling the funeral, whether at the union’s headquarters or in the Omar Makram Mosque in Maidan. Tahrir downtown Cairo.

Hundreds of lawyers attended the funeral of their captain, Rajaei Attia, who passed away last Saturday morning at the age of 84, after he fell ill inside a courthouse during the trial session of lawyers accused of gathering and demonstrating.

A press statement issued by the Syndicate Council on Monday said, "There was an overwhelming desire from the Council of the Syndicate and the masses of lawyers for the body to be removed from the Bar, as it is a symbol and value for lawyers and lawyers, but some bodies rejected this with all severity, and although this position was very harsh on the Council of The Syndicate, the masses of lawyers, his fans and his students, the Syndicate’s council decided to respond to this out of concern for the homeland, and to avoid any problems.”

The statement considered that what happened represented a lack of appreciation for lawyers and the legal profession, and caused great anger among the masses of lawyers and their families, and even in the public opinion, adding, "Does this man deserve what is happening? As we are a patriotic Egyptian Bar Association, lovers of the homeland and supporters of it, how do we confront lawyers? And what do we say to seniors? Officials who wish to offer condolences?

The statement addressed Sisi, saying, "The attack occurred on the entire syndicate and then on the head of the Bar, so we hope that the dignity of the man and the dignity of lawyers will respond to this strange event."

The president's representative at the funeral

Interestingly, the ban on mourning in the syndicate or in the Omar Makram mosque came despite the participation of a representative from the Presidency of the Republic, as well as a large number of public figures, inside a villa next to the Omar Makram Mosque located in the vicinity of Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo, which is followed by an event house that often hosts mourning events Especially for the big ones.

Among the most prominent public figures who participated in the funeral: Ibrahim Mahlab, the former Prime Minister, the lawyer Baha Abu Shaqqa, the current undersecretary of the Senate, Zakaria Azmy, the former chief of staff of the President of the Republic, Fathi Sorour, the former Speaker of the People’s Assembly, the former Minister of Parliament Mofeed Shehab, and other union representatives. sports clubs and the media.

A state of wide sympathy prevailed between lawyers and activists with what they described as the dramatic death of Attia, especially with the pioneers of social networking sites circulating pictures of Attia during his fall in court, and lawyers opposed to the policies of the late captain said that his death while defending the accused represents a bright point in his career.

But this sympathy did not prevent others from recalling positions they reject of the late captain, most notably his support for Egypt's ceding of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir in the Gulf of Aqaba to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It is noteworthy that Ragai Attia Abdo was born on the sixth of August 1938 in Menoufia Governorate, which is the birthplace of a number of senior politicians and public figures in Egypt, led by the late President Hosni Mubarak and his predecessor President Anwar Sadat.

Rajaei Attia grabbed the position of head of the Bar in the elections held about two years ago, by confronting the former president, Sameh Ashour, after a heated electoral battle, during which an attempt was made to bring down Attia, claiming that he was supported by the union’s Islamist lawyers.

The late was appointed as a member of the Shura Council, and he also obtained membership in the Islamic Research Academy, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the Writers' Union, the Specialized National Councils, and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

The late has 120 books, mostly on Islamic and social issues. He also had interests in the press and chaired the board of directors of the economic newspaper Al Mal.

They also prevented the funeral of the head of the Bar Association from the headquarters of the General Syndicate, as they prevented the funeral of the funeral tonight in the Omar Makram Mosque, and the reservation was cancelled!


General anxiety!

— Selim Azzouz (@selimazouz1) March 28, 2022